Doing stuff you used to do in the places you used to hang.

Jul 16, 2022 12:01 pm

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Back in December of 2019, I quit my day job to freelance full-time. I didn't have a full client load, but I had enough saved and some passive income stuff in the works, and well. I thought I'd be able to build a full client roster and live my dream life.

Then, as I'm sure you're aware, the pandemic hit and I lost all my clients and random gigs. Pivots were made, gang. The awakening wasn't rude, but it wasn't at all pleasant.

Things have calmed down since then, and the world is pretending everything is normal again. So I've been doing some freelance stuff. It feels kind of like putting on a pair of old jeans that you aren't sure you can fit into anymore. And yeah, these metaphorical jeans are more snug than I'd like, but as long as I stand up straight, they look pretty okay.

A local writer friend of mine became the editor of a local food magazine, and hit me up to write a story about one of the best restaurants in Norman, Oklahoma, Pepe Delgado's. I was happy to do it, and even sent him my draft 3 days before the deadline.

(I have literally never done that. Maybe this signals a new turn in my life as a functional adult who has a healthy relationship with her work and her deadlines. Also, maybe this piece was only 300 words for a print publication, and that's like 1/5 the size of a blog post, so it was easy to crank out.)

This past Thursday, I got to drive the 45 minutes back to Norman to meet the photographer at Pepe Delgado's. He took some photos, and I got to be the hand pulling a chip up from a plate of nachos so he could get the perfect shot of a cheese stretch. I also was the hand pouring a beer and squeezing a lime into said beer.

(This parenthetical is a sentence of appreciation for light lagers served in a glass with a salted rim and a squeeze of lime.)

The photographer and I got to talking about Norman. We both spent a significant amount of time there in our formative years, we have the dirt bag stories to prove it.

So, in honor of what I was like in the past, when I was a problematic bartender and grad student, here is a non-exhaustive list of sketchy things I've either done or enjoyed in Norman, Oklahoma, the best little college town where your honor students go to become burn outs.

Double-fisting dollar beers at Mr. Bill's
Drinking free Natty Light from a jockey box at Joe's Taverna on lady's night
Red cups at The Deli
Doing too many shots in the smoking section of The Vista and trying not to puke in the elevator after last call
Going to a bar called Opie's, but referring to it as Gropie's for obvious reasons
Drinking on the roof of The Abner Ale House at 4 in the morning
The NAFTA Flight, made by duct taping cans of Schlitz, Tecate, and Molson together, popping a straw in each can, and sipping from all three simultaneously
Attending free concerts at the university--a dry campus, but stopping at Sonic on the way there, getting a Route 44 Ocean Water Slush, drinking half of it, and filling it back up to the top with 90-proof Parrot Bay
Stopping by a house party at 12 AM, partying through the night, and then stepping out onto the porch only to realize the sun has risen and the school buses are out picking up kids

(This list is non-exhaustive because my mom reads this newsletter and I need plausible deniability.)

Part of me looks at that list and wants to revive my party girl days. The rest of me acknowledges that I get super sleepy after half a beer now, so I am physically incapable of partying like I used to. And even though I probably shouldn't publicly share my exploits with Natty Light, I think it's a good reminder that there's a time for everything.

And whatever phase you're in, it will pass.

You might be struggling with a job like I was at the beginning of the pandemic when I had to figure out how to make money without clients.

You might be going to class during the day and partying all night, burning the candle at both ends and wondering how long until the bottom falls out.

You might be wondering if you have to pretend like everything is normal for the rest of your life, just like everyone else is, even though it feels like all the institutions we used to rely on are broken.

I don't know much, but I do know that everything will pass. And I also know that sometimes, you can make choices that make those things pass faster or slower. And years from now, you will look back on it and reminisce, not unlike this self-indulgent writer who shares far too many details that can be used to incriminate her in crimes for the which the statute of limitations has surely passed.

But if you're in a stage right now where you need the reminder, whatever you're going through, it'll pass. For better or worse. So commit the moments that matter to memory and push through those you'd like to forget. As you read this, whatever it is you're going through, it's passing.

And sometimes that helps to keep going.